PERSPECTIVES OF TOTAL QUALITY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
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Transcript of PERSPECTIVES OF TOTAL QUALITY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
PERSPECTIVES OF TOTAL QUALITY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Dr. R. Gopalakrishnan and Ms. S. D. Uma mageswari
I Dr. R. Gopalakrishnan
Emeritus Professor
Department of Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering,
RMK Engineering College, Kavaraipettai, Thiruvallur Dt.
II S.D. Umamageswari
Asst. Professor
Department of Management Studies
RMK Engineering College
PERSPECTIVES OF TOTAL QUALITY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
ABSTRACT
Quality has become a buzzword in every walk of life. Slackness in maintaining
quality has been proved to result in definite failure. It has become imperative that
every individual acquires a fairly good knowledge on quality improvement
methodologies to be successful in life. Because of this, all universities in India are
introducing Total Quality Management as a subject in their undergraduate and
postgraduate curriculum. A curriculum bereft of quality ethics, environment and
entrepreneurship is considered to be inconsummate.
There is a plethora of books available on various topics related to TQM and in
general, on quality but each one of them has a different focus. A lot of research is
being done and many authors have contributed in this direction to supplement the
books and classroom teaching. Major development programmes are also being
incorporated for the benefit of engineering college teachers as well as practicing
engineers to enhance their knowledge about TQM.
The present paper deals with some of the important topics in relevance to
implementation of TQM methodologies in engineering education.
Key words : Quality, Education, TQM.
Introduction
In the late 1950’s, Dr. W.E. Deming propounded the techniques of TQM (1). While
the U.S did not readily accept his ideas, Japan heartily agreed to implement them for
its recovery and rehabilitation from the scourges of World War II. In consequence of
implementation, the derogatory usage of words ‘Made in Japan’ had no further
currency. In 1980’s, US industries realized the efficacy of TQM and particularly
Motorola and Federal Express, which were failing in business earlier, became world
leaders in selling after the implementation of TQM principles. Besides business
houses, several schools and colleges are now using TQM to improve their
administration. For example, Oregon State University a few years back implemented
TQM philosophy in their management activities and achieved tremendous success(2).
In 1988 US Air Force Academy had attempted to use the principles of TQM for the
improvement of its curriculum and designed several courses based on TQM. Many of
the courses that the cadets took were relevant to the graduate requirement (3). These
became immensely palatable to the students and consequently the quantitative
measures of their performance and assimilation of the subject showed significant
increase.
The purpose of this paper is not to rehash the details but make some observations
based on experience that can be applied to similar situations prevailing in any
institution.
1. Application of TQM principles
For any successful implementation, there must be universal endorsement particularly
from the management at the top without which the whole effort would become
infructuous. The management must be aware of and convinced about the efficacy of
the effort.
In our case, we had the unstinted support from the management and the college
administration. It is also important to obtain the acceptance from the students as well
as those higher in the chain of administration. The students are made to take active
part and in so doing they are being taught the fundamentals of TQM. Fortunately
TQM is prescribed by the University as a core course in the curriculum to be taught at
the fourth year of BE/ B.Tech courses at present.
The next step in the implementation strategy is to identify the customers (or) stack
holders. In the context of an industrial application, the customers are the purchasers
of the product / service, suppliers, contractors etc. In the university / college setting,
there can be many customers such as students, the employers of the graduates coming
out successfully from the college, parents of students, the tax payers, the entire
society which gets the benefits from the graduates etc. But we identify students and
employers of our students as our primary customers.
It is not uncommon for university/college to address the needs of the industry in
curriculum development. Students are usually treated more as a product than as a
customer. Many of the current problems stem from the fact that we try to satisfy a
remote body than satisfy the most immediate customers like students. Thus all the
concerned participants must be identified and the relevant importance of each
participant should be established.
student
Teacher
Technicalstaff
Administrativestaff
student
Teacher
Technicalstaff
Administrativestaff
Fig.1. Internal customers in an educational institution
Fig. 2. External customers for an educational institution
Taking a systems approach to education can be a very useful endeavour. If the
student is identified as one of the customers, you must try to satisfy that customer by
knowing what his real wants are. These can be elicited from him personally. The
customers must be able to state in proper terms what they really need. But we must
be sure that we are satisfying their real long-term needs and not the short term desires.
2. Deming’s Quality framework
Deming’s system of profound knowledge applied to engineering education:
Deming emphasizes that the prevailing style of management must undergo transformation. A
system of profound knowledge provides a map of theory by which to understand the
organizations that we work in. The first step is transformation of an individual viz. student,
College
Government
FundingAgencies
Parents
Society
Industries
teachers, management personnel, librarians, office personnel etc. The individual transformed
will have a new perception of his/ her teaching and learning process. The transformed
student/teacher will set an example in his community, will be a good listener and help the
fellow students in their studies. To achieve this Deming advocated four essentials:
1. Appreciation of the system: understanding the overall education process involving
internal customers (teacher and office personnel) and external customers (students.
Parents, recruiting organizations etc.)
2. Knowledge of variation: The knowledge on the causes of variation in the education
process (reduction in pass percentage, failure to achieve the targeted results, the
placement activities etc.)
3. Theory of knowledge: the concepts explaining theory.
4. Knowledge of psychology : Concepts of human nature (student psychology,
employee satisfaction )
The list of 14 points of Deming is used here as a checklist for the implementation of
TQM into an educational process which differs from the manner in which it is applied
to a business or industrial institution, through the general pattern remains the same.
Each of these points can be applied for administration of the college and the
curriculum. The suggestions given below are most representative so that one can
think of implementation of TQM to any unique situation.
Create constancy of purpose
Prepare a mission statement as applicable to a university / college. This may read
as ‘ to develop the skills, attitudes and motivation in our students so that they will
become responsible citizens and be capable of making positive contributions to
the society.’ The mission statement for an engineering college may be ‘to
develop the sills, attitudes and motivation in our students so that they will perform
in a technically competent, socially responsible and ethical manner as engineers
entrusted with the safety and comfort of their clients. The one given in the box is
an example which is most appropriate for a technical institution.
It is not a trivial matter to develop a mission statement. It explicitly tells us why
the organization exists. Next step is to develop the departmental mission
statement, which depends on the college mission, which in turn on the University
mission. This is not a mere statement but means that everyone in the organization
(not only the staff and administration but every employee) must know how they
can contribute to the mission. If a certain process or position does not add value
or does not contribute to the mission, then it should be eliminated.
Adopt a new philosophy
Mission
To foster quality technical and higher education, research and training in rural areas in various braches of science and technology.
To inculcate among the youth a sense of discipline so that they can be moulded into competent and talented engineers.
To render philanthropic and educational service to Telugu linguistic people living in rural areas bordering Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Quality must be insisted on everything – lecture in a classroom, service in the library
or bookstore, maintenance and upkeep rest rooms play fields, interactions with
parents and visitors. An atmosphere of co-operation must prevail at every level,
student to student, student to faculty etc. Instead of being at loggerheads, and
questions like ‘what can we, the staff, do to make the learning process better?’, ‘what
can we, the teacher and the taught, do to ensure better opportunities for acquisition of
more knowledge?’
Involvement of the Management is the fundamental requirement in adopting new
philosophy of quality in engineering education. The principles of quality education must
percolate to all the levels of the institution.
Cease reliance on mass inspection
In the educational context, it has been felt that a bad, failed student is something like
a scrap that must be reworked (to take the course again) or discarded. Develop the
processes in which there is lesser stress on testing and more focus on the process of
learning. There should be a optimum number of tests to evaluate the student. At
present there are too many checks prescribed by the university. Can we reduce the
need for inspections? Attention on smaller groups and individual attention are
advisable for teaching – learning process. The purpose of education must be understood.
The quality principles are not just for the sake of inspection but for the improved customer
satisfaction. Hence continuous improvement and continuous monitoring should be made
mandatory.
End the practice of conducting business based on price / cost alone.
In all our processes, we need to focus on long-term costs and benefits. Those courses,
which have long-term value, should be offered and not those new courses which have
short term benefits. The representation made from the concerned colleges should be
brought to the notice of the university in this regard.
Continuously improve the production and service
It is pertinent to assess the improvement in the process periodically. What is the
progress achieved this semester over the last semester? Whether the faculty members
are happier? Are the students happier? If the answer is affirmative, determine the
factors responsible for this process and improve upon these processes to make them
better. If the answer is no, find out why and take remedial measures to rectify.
Incremental improvements must be effected every semester. This is exactly the
philosophy of KAIZEN (which means gradual orderly and continuous improvement
requiring no capital investment but time and effort of every employee in the
organization right from the management). Encourage innovation but insist upon
incremental improvements after innovation (fig. 3). Seek for places where one can
improve. Use course grades, performance reports, students’ critiques, complaints etc.
for effecting improvements. The PDCA cycle ‘plan, do, check, act/analyze’ can be
used to improve quality and productivity (fig.4) (5, 6)
Desired Future New Future
Status Status
Current state New current state Fig.3
Fig.4
quality
New Quality
Act / Analyse Plan
CheckDo
Direct discussion with students about their problems will have a salutary effect. This
they will appreciate since it lessens the ‘you versus me’ attitude.
Institute training appropriate to the job
Faculty may be well educated in their disciplines but may not be well versed in the art
of teaching. Faculty development programs help teachers to acquire new knowledge.
Word processing classes help administrative staff to do their job better. Money spent
on faculty improvement programs has a long term payback. TQM must be taught to
everyone – faculty, staff and students. Emulate the Japanese attitude towards
refresher training. Japanese yearn to learn continuously on every issue/technique
related to their work.
Institute leadership
Emphasize leadership in everyone since this quality is a corollary of managing
without fear. Every person having a supervisory role (including the staff) should try
to be a coach and teacher and not a judge. According to Senge (7), a leader should be
a designer and a creator of an environment. A leader transcends the barrier to
communication and productivity. An effective teacher-leader, for example, would
immediately act in such a way that an ill-lit classroom gets proper lighting enabling
the students to read and write. An engineer-leader should be able to help people,
machines, and gadgets to do a better job.
Drive out fear so that every one may work effectively for the organization
A sense of security and freedom from fear will enable a person to work freely and
effectively and turnout best performance. In an academic scenario, fear engulfs both
students and teachers. Students are afraid of securing low marks in sessionals because
of absence from periodical tests and bad performance in examinations. Allowing for
make-up exams, dropping of a low grade mark, reworking of missed problems and
resubmission of assignments would offset their fear. Teachers have to balance their
roles as educators and evaluators. Often the teachers feel that their job is to teach and
educate their students, but, the length of time they spend on evaluation tends to
contradict this view. Some of the effective steps that can be taken are suggested below
based on Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), which is a proactive tool, used to
foresee the probable failures that can occur at a later stage so that they can be
prevented.
Teaching should be made more interesting to the students.
Wherever possible students should be made to ‘do and learn’ rather than ‘hear
and learn’.
Give a few easy tests sot that they gain confidence and
Use innovative methods such as presentations in seminars by students,
involvement in the organization of workshops etc.
As regards the faculty, fear plays a major role. Very few people will be willing to
take the risk of adopting a novel teaching technique because of failure and adverse
criticism. If the teacher were allowed to have a try, certainly some valuable technique
might have emerged. Even if the trial ends up in a failure, the teacher should be
applauded. Further fear of the faculty can be overcome by
Being friendly to the students
Avoiding a showoff attitude and
Having an interaction with them, now and then, during non- academic and
extracurricular activities, in informal meetings and outings etc.
Breakdown barriers between departments
This would mean cooperation and not competition. Too much of
compartmentalization is not healthy for the progress. Cross-functional teams must be
encouraged to address problems and process improvements. Multi disciplinary teams
of faculty and students will have a broader perspective in tackling problems more
effectively. Bringing everyone into a decision-making body would result in a better
solution palatable to all.
Eliminate slogans and exhortations
Deming points out,’ exhortations only create adversarial relationships as the bulk of
causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond
the power of work force’. Without a means to achieve it, a goal should not be stated.
Mere words and slogans do not mean any concrete realization of a goal. Management
must provide the needed infrastructure so that goals can be achieved. Stating a goal is
one thing and its realization is another. To state 80% is the minimum acceptable
score on an examination will not by itself achieve that goal. Efforts must be taken by
way of concerted coaching and arranging for extra help and facilities like study
materials, books, audio visual aids, numerical exercises, viva voce, test etc.
Eliminate numerical quota
As per Deming’s ideas, a worker should not be subjected to a targeted quota since he
can work only to the maximum the system permits. On the industrial side, this
principle is obvious on the academic side and not so obvious however it is true. This
would turn out a lower quality product. Hence priority must be given to quality and
only after quality is assured should the questions of quantity be addressed.
Remove barriers to pride of workmanship
This is an innate quality of any living being to be proud of an innovation or an
achievement. In the academic setting, pride may spring from the personal or group
achievements. There is a good deal of pride in the institution as well. Often this
institutional pride stems from the achievement of a developmental program. When
the students are included in some of the decision-making bodies they will develop a
strong sense of pride. A step as simple as talking to student representative on a
contentious issue or a developmental program can entirely transform an antagonistic
stalemate into an amicable settlement between students or faculty and students and
administration. Similarly barriers between departments and colleges should be
eliminated so that each professor may learn a lot from another department.
Involvement of all in the organization:
This is very much necessary because everyone must be aware of and concerned about
his or her “immediate customer”. For example, the lab in-charges and technicians
who sit in the practical courses must participate and contribute their best for the
proper running of the course. Their support contributes to the mission. Similarly the
secretaries and office administration staff when involved are sure to play crucial role
and suggest improvements to the processes. Faculty members who learn about TQM
are likely to endorse the concept and suggest improvements. One cannot predict just
what a pride of knowledge will spark the idea that will lead to an important process
improvement. Improvement in quality is everybody’s job.
Management’s responsibilities to make it happen
This aspect is of prime importance and the management at every level particularly at
the top must take keen interest and show pride in adopting the TQM techniques. All
the 14 points must be very clear to all involved. The time and effort spent forms the
foundation for all the TQM implementation.
Deming chain reaction:
Improve the quality of education ------ improved infrastructure -------- improved
teaching /learning process --------- higher employability --------- Satisfied
customers ---- survival ------- provides jobs and more jobs
Deadly diseases:
According to Deming the attainment of total quality in an organization is postponed or
hindered due to the following reasons which he calls as deadly diseases.
1. Lack of constancy of purpose: The purpose of education is knowledge oriented.
Students are to be taught practically with real life examples. Perfect correlation
between the theory and practical should be established. Most of the educational
institutions fail to do this.
2. Emphasis on short term profits: Neglecting long range planning is another
hindrance. Institutions work based on the academic results and the overall
development of students is often sidelined.
3. Annual review of performance: Examinations and the marks obtained cannot be the
scale of measurement of knowledge and potential of a student.
4. Running an organization on visible figures alone: The pass percentages, results
alone cannot be the measure of success of any institution.
5. Excuses such as ‘Our problems are different”: Being an educational institution,
management always gives the above excuse.
3. Application details of the principles of TQM to an educational institution
The above mentioned points are of general nature and a careful study is necessary for
applying these to a specific case. No two cases can have same TQM application
methodology since they involve different factors such as size of the institution,
whether it is a public or private and the strength of the people involved.(other crucial
aspects are degree of maturity of the students and involvement of the employer).
The application of TQM principles is possible for different grades of an institution
such as school, college and training institute etc., but the implementation of TQM will
depend on the relative weight age assigned to each of the customers at different levels
of education depending upon maturity of students and other considerations as well.
As the maturity of the students increases, the students replace the parents as the most
important customer. In a training organization the employer who requires the trained
personnel is the most important customer.
However, it is essential that students must be included in the list of customers for any
Educational setting. The relative importance values of customers in the various
educational organizations are shown in fig. 5.
School College Training
Parents Students Employer Parents Students Employer Parents Students employer
Fig .5 Relative customer importance
4. Conclusion
In the context of educational processes, TQM can be a powerful tool like what can be
achieved in the industrial manufacturing processes. However the factors necessary to
achieve this goal are:
Support from everyone in the chain of supervision
Recognition of all the important customers
Attention on the refinement of the processes and
Judicious use of Deming’s 14 points during implementation stage.
This would surely end up in a rewarding result, efficient operation, and harmonious,
co-operative, teamwork situation between students, staff and work force.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge their grateful thanks to the management and
authorities of the R.M.K. Engineering College for providing facilities and permission
for publication of this work.
References
Books :
1. Walton M(1986). The Deming Management method ,Perigee Books, New
York.
2. Imai M (1986) , “Kaizen” ,McGRawHill, New York
3. Subburaj R (2004) , “Total Quality Management” Tata McGraw-Hill, New
Delhi.
Journals :
4. Coate L F, Total Quality Management at Oregon State University, Oregon
State Univeristy, Corvallis, OR, and March 1992.
5. Green R S and Winn R C; Applying of TQM to Engineering Education,
Proc. Of the ASEE, Toledo, OH, July 1992.
6. Sugathi L and Samuel A A, Total Quality Management (Prentice Hall of
India, New Delhi), 2004.
7. Senge P, The Fifth Discipline (Doubleday, New York, N Y) 1990.
8. Deming, W. Edwards, Out of the crisis, MIT Press (1986).